Friday, December 21, 2012

So, Whose Fault is That?

Not many people were aware until last week that it is against the law in Israel for a woman to wear a tallit, or prayer shawl, at the Western Wall. But when four women were detained last Friday and interrogated by police for violating this prohibition, the news reverberated around the Jewish world.

The women, released after a few hours of questioning, were participating in the monthly prayer service held by Women of the Wall to mark the beginning of the Jewish month.

This was not the first time participants in the service clashed with police, but it was the first time that non-Israelis were detained - in this case, two 18-year-olds from Britain participating in the Netzer Olami Shnat gap-year program, which is affiliated with the Reform youth movement.

The two also happened to be the youngest women ever dragged away from the Western Wall plaza for donning a tallit.

Just wait a second.

The campaign of the Women of the Wall is one of the most famous within Reform Judaism.

Haaretz blasts it in the media.

And the counselors and teachers of these teenagers had the responsibility to so inform them of the restrictions.

2 comments:

Actually, they couldn't inform the students because the rules change every month. It's part of the harassment campaign against WOW, which started fairly recently. I was a member of WOW for 18 years, and most of our prayer services took place without disturbance. People ignored us, and we preferred it that way. In my experience, the only trouble surrounding WOW's prayer services is the trouble that others choose to make -- and then blame WOW for having provoked. Classic bully behavior.

(a) I support the claim for religious freedom. i hope you support mine - on the Temple Mount.

(b) i read this on your site:

"The majority ruled that, despite the state’s claims to the contrary, the Women of the Wall maintained a legal right to pray at the Western Wall. Nevertheless, such right was not without boundaries, and the Court was obligated to minimize the harm felt by other worshippers by the form of prayer of the Women of the Wall and to prevent violent incidents between the two warring camps. In keeping with its opinion, the Court ruled that prayer at Robinson’s Arch would allow the Women of the Wall to pray according to their practice “next to the Western Wall,”

(c) I also read there:

"But the struggle continues ­­– until full recognition of the right of the Women of the Wall to pray according to their practice in the women’s section of the Western Wall, the holiest site for the entire Jewish people."

so, in other words, there are rules, it's your obligation to know them, not to 'place an obstacle before the blind', i.e., visiting tourists and under-age youngsters but nevertheless, you don't accept the Court's judgment and continue to be provocative.

About Me

American born, my wife and I moved to Israel in 1970. We have lived at Shiloh together with our family since 1981. I was in the Betar youth movement in the US and UK. I have worked as a political aide to Members of Knesset and a Minister during 1981-1994, lectured at the Academy for National Studies 1977-1994, was director of Israel's Media Watch 1995-2000 and currently, I work at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. I was a guest media columnist on media affairs for The Jerusalem Post, op-ed contributor to various journals and for six years had a weekly media show on Arutz 7 radio. I serve as an unofficial spokesperson for the Jewish Communities in Judea & Samaria.